Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Hejaz, and Yemen. Under his personal leadership, his forces defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin, leading the way to his re-capture of Palestine, which had been seized from the Fatimid Egyptians by the Crusaders 88 years earlier. Though the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem would continue to exist for a period, its defeat at Hattin marked a turning point in its conflict with the Muslims and Arabs. As such, Saladin is a prominent figure in Kurdish, Arab, and Muslim culture. Saladin was a strict adherent of Sunni Islam His chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the Siege of Kerak, and despite being the nemesis of the Crusaders, he won the respect of many of them, including Richard the Lionheart; rather than becoming a hated figure in Europe, he became a celebrated example of the principles of chivalry. (From Wikipedia) Battle vs. Trajan (by CheesyCheese) Saladin Trajan and two other men are in a camp sharpening their swords when a scout returns. He says their are approaching Arabs coming. The troops get ready and Saladin, on horseback, and his troops enter the camp. Saladin sees two men preparing the Scorpion. He draws his Recurve Bow, and shoots one of them down. . The Scorpion is fired, taking down Saladin's horse. Two Romans throw their Pilums at Saladin's troops. One of them kills a soldier . The other soldiers dives out of the way. Saladin and the soldiers charge at the camp, with Saladin firing his bow again, killing another Roman soldier . Trajan retreats, with Saladin in pursuit. Battle Saladin: Trajan: Trajan's men retreat into a forest. They set up an ambush. As Saladin's troops come closer, one of the Roman pops out and impales a Muslim with his gladius . He retreats further as a troop with a War Hammer runs after him. The troop throws his war hammer, causing the Roman to fall. As he gets up he is killed by a Scimitar . He turns around and and is ambushed by a Roman with a Dolabra. Saladin's soldier is hit in the chest three times, killing him . As he returns to fight with Trajan, he is watched by Saladin. Trajan and a Muslim are fighting, and the latter is about to win until the other Roman comes and kills him . Saladin then shoots him with his last Recurve bow arrow . Saladin pulls out his scimitar and Trajan pulls out his gladius. He tries to strike at Trajan but it is blocked by his shield. Saladin and Trajan continue to fight, and Saladin manages to hit Trajan in the helmet. Trajan drops the shield, and Saladin presses, slasing Trajan in the cheek. Trajan falls to ground, and Saladin finishes him off with a strike to the neck . Saladin then yells in victory. WINNER: Saladin Expert's Opinion Saladin won because of his superior long range weaponry and his better tactical knowledge and experience. To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here. Battle vs Oda Nobunaga (by BattleGames1) Saladin: Oda Nobunaga: Saladin and 4 Saracen soldiers on horseback (two archers and two foot soldiers) are traversing across the savannah on patrol from Jerusalem when they reach the top of a hill. From there, Saladin looks to a small distance and spots Oda and his samurai (all of them also on horseback) approaching a small lake near a lightly wooded forest. Seeing them as a potential threat, Saladin silently orders his archers to ready their bows. Positioning himself on the top of the hill, Saladin asks Oda and his men what their business is trespassing on Arab soil. Not understanding Arabic, Oda asks Saladin for directions back to the coastline. Thinking that he is asking for trouble, Saladin looks behind him and gives a slight nod to the troops in waiting. Soon, the Saracens come charging over the hill as if to be ready for an assault. Oda orders his men to ready their weapons as the horse archers (as well as Saladin) fire their recurve bows and miss (deliberately, in order to scare the horses). Oda's archers return fire their yumis (while their horses are not that much under control) with ineffective result. Just as the archers begin reloading their yumis, one samurai is knocked off his horse and as the others dodge the incoming hail of arrows, the grounded samurai is not so lucky and is killed by an oncoming arrow . The samurai again return fire but as the enemy's horses get closer and closer, Oda then has his troops dismount and retreat into the woods. Saladin and his archers continue firing their arrows and manage to knock another samurai off his horse. Before the archer can deliver a final blow, the samurai manages to get his yumi ready and fires back - killing the horse archer - before charging into the woods. When Oda and his men become hard to target, Saladin has his men slow down. Getting off his horse, Saladin walks over to the fallen samurai and notes the deep penetration of the arrow within its armour, giving Saladin an idea. He walks back over to his men and secretly discusses a plan with them, all the while Oda and his three samurai watch from a distance. Oda has his three remaining samurai set up an ambush while Oda waits for Saladin further in. The samurai then dismount and prepare their weapons. As one samurai watches, Saladin has his archer stay behind to provide covering fire while he and the foot soldiers continue on inside without the horse. When Saladin walks off in one direction and his two foot soldiers in another, the samurai then charges out wielding his yari at the horse archer. With a quick reaction, the archer takes out his pike and begins clashing with the samurai, each swing and parry from the pike being countered by the yari. The samurai then jabs the yari into the horse, scaring it and knocking the Sacaren off his horse. Before the Saracen can fully get up, the samurai kicks him to the ground before jabbing the yari into the Saracen's chest . As the samurai takes out his yari, he feels a sharp pain in his neck - it is Saladin who, after watching the spectacle involving his archer, snuck up behind the samurai and stabbed his Khanjar at an open spot. The samurai falls dead onto the dusty ground . Sensing danger involving his two foot soldiers, Saladin rushes off in the their general direction. Weaving in and out of the trees, the two foot soldiers descend deeper into the woods, passing by two trees where two samurai are lying in wait. As they continue walking, the two Saracens notice a horse drinking water by a small stream. Coming up to investigate, the samurai sneak up behind, katanas draws. When they get close enough, one samurai stabs the foot soldier from behind . The other one now has to face two samurai, but Saladin rushes in on time and fires his recurve bow, killing the assailant . Saladin then continues making his way down to the river bed as the Saracen and samurai continue clashing swords. From the other side of the river bed, Oda comes up with this yumi drawn and at the ready. During the sword clash, the Saracen tries to strike through the back of the helmet but only succeeds in knocking it off. Saladin continues making his way down when he spots Oda waiting for the right moment to fire his bow. Saladin yells at his remaining man to duck, which he does - meaning that the arrow meant for him strikes the samurai instead . Noticing his blunder, Oda runs away from the river into the forest. Saladin then comes up to the Saracen and again devises a plan and again the two men go their separate ways. Entering a clearing where his horse is, Oda, thinking he may have lost the two, prepares to mount his steed. Behind the horse, however, Saladin's remaining soldier jumps out and starts swinging the scimitar at him. Oda unsheathes his chigiriki and strikes back at the Saracen, wrapping the end of the chigiriki around the blade. As the two warriors struggle with their weapons, Saladin sneaks up behind Oda again with his Khanjar dagger. However, before Saladin can strike, Oda swings his chigiriki out, taking the scimitar with it. Defenseless but seeing Saladin behind him, the Saracen tries to make a final stand using his hands. However, Oda strikes the Saracen with the chigiriki and (with flourish) beats him to death . The swinging of the chigiriki hits Saladin and flings the khanjar away a distance. Saladin then unsheathes his scimitar and two have a fierce sword battle. Although one manages to wound the other in some areas, the battle is dead even. Saladin tries to swing his scimitar at areas where Oda's katana isn't but they are blocked by the samurai armour (although the force of the swing is enough to shatter the plates). Oda himself is having trouble due to the weight of his armour and his blows being blocked a lot by Saladin's sword. Eventually, Oda disarms Saladin. Saladin then runs towards the trees. Oda chases after him thinking he is on the retreat. In actually, Saladin was reaching for his fallen khanjar, which he does, and throws it at Oda who is charging at him with the katana. The thrown knife pierces Oda's eyes, causing him to scream out in agony. Saladin gets up on his feet as Oda collapses dead onto the plain . Saladin pumps his fist into the air shouting "Allahu Akbar!". Winner: Saladin Expert's Opinion This was a very close battle. Both warriors were excellent swordsmen and excellent leaders. However, what really won the day for Saladin was his long range weapons (which surprising included the khanjar dagger) and his more powerful (but only just) scimitar. Yes, Oda did have the armour but this made the wearer slightly heavier (like a knights armour) and slower. (if you think this battle is unfair, you can go right ahead and do a rematch). To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here Battle vs. Charlemagne (by Goddess of Despair) In the dark of night, Saladin, the great Sultan of Egypt, sharpens his sword. He has been informed that the famed Sun Tzu had been captured by Suleiman. Clearly, Suleiman is the greatest threat, and thus should be his first target. Meanwhile, Saladin’s soldiers huddled around a fire, telling stories of some of the men they would be facing soon enough. Charlemagne and his Frankish warriors slowly crept up to the camp. Charlemagne knew he had no real long range weaponry, thus an ambush at night was his best option. Upon seeing Saladin’s Saracen soldiers huddled around a fire, he gave a small smile. Surprise-and by the looks of it-God was on his side. Charlemagne and another Frank both readied their Francisca axes, throwing them as accurately as they could in the darkness. Both axes hit the same soldier, one in his back and another in his head. The force of the two axes knocked the Saracen warrior into the fire, signaling the beginning of the battle. As Saladin’s troops scrambled for weapons, the Frankish warriors charged. One of the Muslim warriors had secured a pike and skewered an oncoming Frank. Another Frank sliced part of the pike’s pole with his longsword, removing the point from the weapon. The Saracen soldier quickly dropped the now useless pike and drew his talwar saber. The Frank sliced high, but the Saracen parried and counter slashed, leaving a large wound on the Frank’s cheek. Enraged, the Frankish warrior thrusted his longsword into the Saracen’s chest, penetrating his chainmail. The next Saracen rushed forward and decapitated the Frank with a slice of his talwar. The final Frank soldier, with a roar of anger, charged only to succumb to the same fate as his companion. Turning, the Saracen warrior was met with a boar spear strike to the gut. Charlemagne released the weapon from his grasp and drew Joyeuse. Saladin emerged from his tent, saber in his right hand, and shield in his left. Charlemagne approached slowly, measuring Saladin’s every movement. Saladin attacked first, slashing at Charlemagne’s throat. Charlemagne parried the strike and shoved Saladin back. He followed it up with a large overhead chop; however Saladin deflected the blow with his shield. Next, Saladin thrusted his saber into Charlemagne’s chest, however it failed to penetrate his chainmail. Shoving Saladin back a second time, Charlemagne attempted to decapitate the Sultan, however yet again Saladin blocked the strike with his shield. Before Charlemagne could counter, Saladin sliced the Frankish king’s throat, sending him to his knees coughing blood. With one more slice, Saladin removed the king’s head. Saladin raised his talwar in the air, allowing the blade to glimmer in the moonlight before sheathing it and examining the battlefield. “Great victory…requires great sacrifice…” Expert's Opinion The closest battle so far in the King of Kings tourney. Saladin wielded a better long range weapon, Charlemagne a better mid ranged weapon, and the two were pretty much tied in close range. What allowed Saladin to get the upper hand was his superior battlefield tactics-but just barely. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Battle vs Harald Hardrada (by Lachlan Blake) No Battle Written Expert's Opinion Harald was simply the more formidable and physically capable warrior and he was easily able to overpower the smaller and older Saladin. Saladin was a great tactician but he was more of a behind the scenes commander rather than a out and out fighter. To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here. Battle vs Minamoto no Yoshitsune (by SPARTAN 119 The dry grass of a gently rolling plain was pushed down by the footfalls of hundreds of men and horse coming from two direction. To the left was the army of Saladin's Arabs, while on the right was a force of Japanese samurai under Minamoto no Yoshitsune. For a moment, time seemed to stand still as both armies faced each other, about 200 meters apart. Then, Minamoto gave a shout and dramatically thrust his tachi foward, towards the unknown enemy. At once, the archers in his army drew back their yumi and released a swarm of arrows. The large Japanese arrows, over a meter in length, rained down on the Arabian army. Those that had shields covered themselves, while the rest attempted to keep their unarmored faces as covered as possible. A few of the arrows hit their mark, going through areas not covered by mail, causing soldiers to fall to their knees and clutch the impact point of the arrow in pain. Some of the narrower arrowheads ran between the rings of the chainmail. A hand full even went directly through the unexposed face, running through the head and instantly killing the target. Most of the arrows, however, impacted the chain hauberks or steel helmets of the Arabian soldiers and bounced off harmlessly. The Arabian army stood firm, as Saladin ordered his archers to return fire. A second cloud of wood and steel flew through the air, shorter arrows, but with a faster initial velocity. While many still bounced off the samurai's armor, a few more wounded or killed their targets than on the Arabian side. With a great shout, Minamoto no Yoshitsune thrust his sword forward a second time, ordering his forces to charge. A thunder filled the air as countless feet of man and horse pounded the ground, charging forth with furious war cries towards Saladin's men. The sultan, however, ordered his infantry to form ranks and hold their spears, similar to shorter versions of the cavalry lances, upwards in a spear wall, as the archers fired a second volley, raining arrows down on the charging samurai, cutting down men and horse left and right. Minamoto himself led the charge, swinging down his sword, as other samurai fired their yumis or swing their blades at Saladin's defenders, colliding with the ranks. Steel drove through flesh on both sides. It was a desperate melee with no clear winner, with neither side giving a single inch. Then, from the flanks of Minamoto's forces, a thunder of hooves drowned out even the clash of steel. On each side of the samurai forces, Arabian light cavalry, rode the flanks, horse archer firing a swarm of arrows into the backs of samurai. Lances and arrowheads ran through flesh, cutting down men left and right as the Arabian cavalry completely cut off the the enemy rear. Minamoto was surrounded. As his soldiers fell one by one, Minamoto no Yoshitsune led one last desperate charge, the warrior monk Benkei by his side. Minamoto's tachi and Benkei's naginata cleaved through several Arabian cavalry. Those that were not killed instantly fell the ground and were trampled in the great mass of men and horses. Minamoto, Benkei, and a few dozen other samurai broke through the encircling forces, making a final charge straight for Saladin. The rest of their forces were separated, disorganized and outnumbered, and yet unlike the Crusaders, not one surrendered, choosing instead to die where they stood. Minamoto's few dozen men beared down on Saladin's entourage, the Muslim leader charged forward, blades in hand, as the sultan himself drew his saif and charged forward with his elite guard. A swarm of arrows from Saladin's horse archers struck the charging samurai. All but a few of them fell to the ground. As evident that it was that all was lost, Minamoto still made his final charge. As the first Arab lancers met the last survivors, Benkei raised his naginata, still fighting even as he was pierced by multiple arrows, and unhorsed when his mount was struck right between the eyes. Benkei's naginata cut down first one, then two of the lancers, the second having his head severed completely. Meanwhile, Minamoto evaded and incoming lance swung his tachi, slicing the throat of an Arab cavalryman. He then charge straight at Saladin, who parried with his saif just in time. Turning around, both leaders charged again as the Arab horsemen finally overcame Benkei, at a loss of five of their own. Minamoto swung his blade again, striking the chain mail of Saladin's hauberk, but not piercing it. The sultan, however, ran his sword forward, punching through with the momentum of his horse. Minamoto coughed up blood as he fell from his horse, bleeding out on the already blood-stained ground. As his forces overcame the last of the enemy, Saladin raised his sword in victory. WINNER: Saladin Expert's Opinion While Minamoto was a great commander, and one of the greatest tacticians of Japanese history, his conflicts were limited to fighting other samurai, while Saladin fought a greater variety of foes, including both Europeans and other Arabs. That, along with the superior metallurgy of the Arabian weapons, including the legendarily strong Damascus steel, gave Saladin the victory. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Battle vs Ezio Auditore da Firenze (by ILoveBattles) Ezio and six assassins were sent to hunt down and kill an Arab leader who is in Italy to make plans for an invasion. Ezio is first to reach the edge of the building, and signals his assassins to stop. He sees Saladin walking with 6 guards by him. “Saladin, sir, we should move faster. The meeting is in 15 minutes.” A guard says to Saladin. “Fair enough. Do we have a carriage?” He asks, looking around. “Go. Leave the leader alone. He’s mine.” Ezio says to his men. The assassins converge on Saladin’s position. “Get them!” An assassin yells. “What in the-“ A guard of Saladin is cut off by an assassin jumping on him and pushing the hidden blade through his neck. Ezio-7 Saladin-6 “My good Allah!” Saladin yells as he sees his friend die. All the other assassins get involved and fight the Arabs. One assassin is held up by an Arab soldier, but another assassin is able to chop at his side and kill the Arab. Ezio-7 Saladin-5 “Kill some of them at least!” An Arab soldier yells out. “Saladin!” Ezio yells in the midst of the battle. Saladin turns and looks at Ezio, only to get shot right above the hip by a crossbow bolt. Saladin falls onto the ground, but is able to crawl into an alleyway and hide. “Fool. Kill the rest of them!” Ezio yells to his assassins. Just after Ezio said that, an Arab soldier parries and disarms an assassin, then slashes him in the throat and kills him. Ezio-6 Saladin-5 “What in god’s name?” Ezio mutters to himself as he sees the death of his assassin. He unsheathes his Sword of Altair and comes down with an overhead strike on the Arab soldier that killed the assassin. Luckily, the Arab is able to put up his sword and block the oncoming attack. The Arab kicks Ezio in the stomach from the ground, causing him to move backwards. Another assassin goes to help, but an arrow lands in his stomach. Ezio-5 -Saladin-5 Ezio looks over and sees an injured Saladin from the corner of the alley. “He’s not going to get very far anyway. Kill the others first.” Ezio says to himself. “Ezio, we need help!” A voice came from the battle scene. Ezio sprints to an Arab soldier, but he had already pulled out his Khanjar and stabbed the assassin in the throat. Ezio-4 Saladin-5 “What kind of warriors are these men?” Ezio muttered. He runs behind the Arab soldier and runs the Sword of Altair through the back of the Arab. Ezio-4 Saladin-4 “I’m going to kill you, you Arab bastard!” an assassin yells at an Arab soldier. The assassin parries an attack, but the Arab picks up some dirt and throws it in the eyes of the assassin. “Dirty move!” Ezio yells to the Arab before charging him. The Arab, notified by this taunt, is able to throw Ezio to the ground when he charges. Ezio is able to react by using the Hidden Blade to stab him in the knee. The other assassin surprises the Arab with the stiletto and stabs him in the stomach. Ezio-4 Saladin-3 “Thank you, friend.” Ezio says to the assassin. “No, thank you.” The assassin says. As they both turn around, they see another assassin get bashed in the face by an Arab Warhammer. Ezio-3 Saladin-3 “What in the?” The assassin next to Ezio says. The two assassins approach the Arab swiftly, but he keeps them at distance by wildly swinging his Warhammer. “Stay back, you hooded fools!” he yells at them. Ezio nods to his fellow assassin, and he slides to the Arabs feet and slashes his Achilles tendon. “Stay right there.” Ezio says to the Arab. The other assassin looks around, and gets an arrow to the neck for standing up. Ezio-2 Saladin-3 Ezio looks over to his last assassin, and decides he needs someone to help him. Ezio pulls out his crossbow and shoots an Arab in the side. Ezio walks over to the Arab and points his sword at his neck. “Please…” The Arab says, struggling to breathe. “Why should I?” Ezio says as he cuts the Arab’s neck with the Sword of Altair. Ezio-2 Saladin-2 “Forgot one thing, hold a moment.” Ezio says. He walks over to the Arab soldier with the slashed tendon. “Having trouble getting up?” Ezio asks. “Shut up and kill me.” The Arab says. “With pleasure.” Ezio says. He pulls out his stiletto and stabs him in the stomach, leaving it in him. Ezio-2 Saladin-1 Saladin picks up his Khanjar and creeps into the bloody road. The assassin sees Saladin walking towards them and fires his crossbow, but only grazes his arm. Saladin stumbles behind a fountain and sits down to mend his wounds. He hears footsteps though, and throws his Khanjar into the assassin’s head. Ezio-1 Saladin-1 “Ezio Auditore.” Saladin says as he gets up. “All I hear is your damned name all around this city.” Saladin slowly pulls out his scimitar. “It’s for a reason.” Ezio says. He sees Saladin preparing a surprise attack and times his sword to draw just as Saladin swings his scimitar. The impact from the two blades exerts Saladin’s wound, knocking him back. Saladin takes another desperate swing, and the blade runs off of Ezio’s sword. Ezio goes for a low swipe, and he just barley scrapes Saladin’s leg. Saladin takes a swing at Ezio’s other side, but he is able to pull out his hidden blade and block the attack. Ezio capitalizes by pulling an upward slash and cutting Saladin’s shoulder. Ezio, without looking, trusts his sword behind him through Saladin’s back and out his chest. Ezio pulls out, sheathes his sword and turns around. He rolls Saladin’s corpse on his back to confirm his death, and stands up. Ezio-1 Saladin-0 Ezio looks around and sees the carnage before him. He goes to all six of his fallen comrades and pays his respects to all of them. He whistles for his horse and mounts it, taking one last look at the corpses of Arabs and assassins. “The most messy assassination there’s ever been.” Ezio muttered to himself. 'Winner: Ezio ' Experts Opinion Ezio won because of his more reliable troops who are better trained, he has a home field advantage, and Ezio was a better fighter as well as a better worker with his team, while Saladin usually just stood back and gave commands to his troops. To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here. Category:Warriors Category:Real Warriors Category:Middle-Eastern Warriors Category:Historical Warriors Category:Medieval Warriors Category:Royal Warriors Category:Pages in need of Biography Rewrites Category:Asian Warriors